Web safety warning for children

Published on: 16.05.07
Source: BBC News online

More than half of the children in the UK using the internet have had an unwanted experience.

The NSPCC suggests in a survey that 50.4% of 2,053 children using the internet had 'unwanted experiences'. Almost 60% of children use the websites to help combat loneliness, 53% use them to share their problems. It concerns about the popularity of social networking sites, such as MySpace, which about 52% of children aged 11-16 supposed to use once a day. NSPCC director and chief executive Dame Mary Marsh said: 'Children face real threats on the internet such as sexual grooming, cyber-bullying, exposure to violent, pornographic and other unsuitable material. We must recognise and respond to this reality by helping them be safer online as well as helping them speak out about abuse at the same time.'